A bipartisan bill tackles landlords' unwillingness to rent to housing voucher holders.
Senators Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) have introduced legislation to expand the Fair Housing Act in an effort to improve access to affordable housing.
The Fair Housing Improvement Act of 2018 specifically targets discrimination based on source of income—i.e., use of housing vouchers—as well as veteran status. It would add these factors to the list of categories explicitly protected under the law, which currently include race, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability.
"The move comes just a few months after the Department of Housing and Urban Development launched a push to get more landlords to accept housing vouchers, citing two studies that 'most' landlords do not accept housing vouchers and therefore deny affordable housing opportunities to those who need it most," Ben Lane reports in Housing Wire.
About 2.2 million veterans and low-income households currently receive federal housing vouchers, Lane notes.
FULL STORY: Prominent senators begin bipartisan push to expand Fair Housing Act
San Jose Approves Tenant Protections, Studying a Ban on Voucher Discrimination
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Fair Housing Funding Cuts Open Door to Discrimination, Advocates Say
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Planning Fair: How Fair Housing Intersects with Planning
The successful implementation of fair housing laws requires the active participation of urban planners, land use boards, elected officials, and the wider planning community.
Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
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HUD Announces Plan to Build Housing on Public Lands
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Has President Trump Met His Match?
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OKC Approves 7.2 Miles of New Bike Lanes
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Preserving Houston’s ‘Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing’
Unsubsidized, low-cost rental housing is a significant source of affordable housing for Houston households, but the supply is declining as units fall into disrepair or are redeveloped into more expensive units.
The Most Popular Tree on Google?
Meet Rodney: the Toronto tree getting rave reviews.
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